Posted: Wednesday, 22 September 2010

CLC executive vice-president Barbara Byers has joined critics from all opposition political parties, as well as women’s groups from across the country to lobby members of Parliament in support of the long gun registry.

“The Canadian Labour Congress supports the long gun registry because it makes our communities and our workplaces safer,” Byers says. “It is that simple.”

Byers participated in a news conference on September 21 along with status of women critics for the three opposition political parties and the national coordinator of the Ad Hoc Coalition for Women's Equality and Human Rights, and the YWCA.

The group says it wants to send a strong message that abolishing the registry will put already vulnerable women at greater risk. "We know from the statistics that long guns are the guns used most often when women are murdered in domestic violence. Loss of the long-gun registry would put more women at risk. Police consult it consistently on domestic violence calls," according to Claire Tremblay of the Ad Hoc Coalition.

Byers add, “We are urging all politicians from all political parties to support the long gun registry. And that means supporting a motion in the House of Commons that would end consideration of Bill C-391 – the bill that would abolish the registry and destroy its records.”

The registry is supported by the Canadian Police Association, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the Canadian Association of Police Boards. The RCMP has produced a report that says the registry works. The registry is also supported by emergency room physicians, nurses, social workers and front line workers in women’s shelters and transition houses.

Byers adds, “We believe that the registry is a valuable tool for preventing gun violence – and the people who deal with this reality every day agree with us. Doing away with the registry would make our communities less safe. It would make our workplaces less safe, and it would make the jobs of police officers and first responders less safe.”

Members of Parliament vote on the registry on September 22. Byers joined people from across the country who are in Ottawa to tell MPs that the long gun registry saves lives and should be kept.